six campuses included began plan-ning their ceremonies soon after and started to figure out how to locate the

students.Unfortunately,

many of the stu-dents who were removed from their studies are now deceased.

“Should we have done it years ago? Of course,” Bentley said. “It’s late, but it’s still a

worthwhile program we put together.” The internment of Japanese Ameri-

cans began shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

It was during that time that ap-proximately 110,000 Japanese Ameri-cans on the West Coast were interned – all under the justification of ‘na-tional security.’

“It was an injustice upon people,” Bentley said.

DiDomenico’s parents were each placed in different camps – her moth-er, Ellen Kuyama-Matsumoto, in Pos-ton War Relocation Center, and her father, Shigeki Matsumoto, in Gila River War Relocation Center.

“When I was young, my relatives would get together and talk about

camp – I didn’t know what they were talking about. I didn’t find out about the relocation camp until I was tak-ing American history in high school,” DiDomenico said.

Her mother, now 88, didn’t tell DiDomenico much about the intern-ment.

“She really wouldn’t talk about it (when I asked),” DiDomenico said. “It was the worst time of her life.”

Joy Sato’s parents were both in-terned in 1942 as well.

“They said that they felt safe there. They were all together.”

THURSDAY

The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton

March 18, 2010Vol. 87 Issue 23

Sound-off: What defines music?SOUND-OFF, Page 6

Manchester Orchestra performs at The

TroubadourSOUND-OFF, Page 8

Senior heavyweight on the road to NCAA Wrestling ChampionshipsSPORTS, Page 10

Demonstration addresses national gay rights violationsNEWS, Page 2

OCTA bus service reductions have Orange County bus riders facing

drastic changes. Find out more at:

Eyebrow threading is a growing trend.

Check out the news story at:

Titan baseball aces take the moundCal State Fullerton sophomore

right-hander Tyler Pill, sophomore right-hander Noe Ramirez and ju-nior righty Daniel Renken are three of the most highly-touted starting pitchers in college baseball.

The three have managed to bal-ance personal aspirations with un-derstanding and distinguish the dif-ference between competition and competitiveness.

Sacrificing individual goals for team accomplishments led to the de-velopment close relationships.

“We all love to joke around. We’re like brothers,” Ramirez said. “We help each other out. We’re always there for each other. It’s that way with the whole team but there’s just a special bond between us three.”

Pill and Ramirez were both named Freshman All-Americans following stellar rookie seasons and shared Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors last year.

Ramirez was 9-2 with a 3.33 ERA. Pill set CSUF freshman records in wins, shutouts, and winning percent-age.

He went 11-3 with a 4.06 ERA. Renken, majoring in comparative re-

ligion, is the oldest of the three. He made 14 starts as a freshman

in 2008, going 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA. He was even better in 2009, posting a 2.69 ERA good enough for 2nd in the Big West Conference and 23rd nationally.

He was able to retain his position as ace of the staff, but not without pressure from the two rookie stand-outs.

They all watch each other closely when on the mound and hopes to top that performance in his next start.

“We want to compete against each other’s starts,” Pill said. “It’s just com-petitive nature. For them to do well pushes me even harder to do well.”

The early success of the freshmen was a pleasant surprise for the Titans but veteran Renken maintained his role.

However, he admitted adding more star pitchers brought new ele-ments to the staff off the field.

“We’re not out there to put more pressure on each other. We’re out there to make sure we get better,” Renken said, adding that they do feel the need to outperform one another.

“The pressure we do put on each other is good pressure.”

www.dailytitan.com/eyebrowthreading www.dailytitan.com/OCTAbusreduction

Multimedia

CSU honors internment victimsBy Tanya Ghahremani

Daily Titan Staff Writernews@dailytitan.com

LmFaO to play Spring Concert

By meLiSSa maLdOnadO

Daily Titan Staff Writer

news@dailytitan.com

PhOTO COurTeSy rene mCLean

The Associ-ated Students Inc. production staff has con-firmed that the Grammy-nom-inated electro-pop group LMFAO will be headlining this year’s Spring Concert, sched-uled for Friday, April 16.

E i g h t months of planning and o p e n - e n d e d student surveys showed the band was favored alongside Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West and No Doubt.

“We’ve been planning the event since July,” said junior Michelle Carnero, Spring Concert coordinator. Carne-ro’s first task was to discover which artists students cared to see perform on campus. Campus-conducted surveys showed that LMFAO was in the top 10.

“Afterwards, the majority of the year is spent get-ting the biggest artist we possibly can within our bud-get ($100,500 of the ASI budget has been allocated to the concert) and reminding people to save the date and just letting people know that the concert is coming up,” Carnero said. After the original headliner, hip-hop art-ist Drake, unexpectedly backed out, the chart topping, campus-friendly group became a favorable alternate.

“When booking a band, we contact an artist’s agent and ask for availability and interest and if they agree. Then Thomas Kocina, the ASI program director, and I will bring it to the Finance Committee to get it ap-proved.

See LMFAO, Page 3

Japanese children were forcibly evacuated and moved to internment camps while their homes were burned down by the U.S. Navy during WWII.PhOTO COurTeSy FLiCkr.COm/Fredmikerudy

In the spring of 1942, hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and forced into internment camps. Among those who faced this injus-tice, many were students who had to leave their studies.

The Nisei Diploma Project is a collaborative effort of all the current CSU campuses that had Japanese-American students who were re-moved and forced into internment camps during World War II. While Cal State Fullerton was not open at the time, six other CSU campuses were – Fresno, Pomona, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and San Luis Obispo. Through the project, those removed and forced into internment camps will receive Honorary Bach-elor of Humane Letters degrees.

According to the project’s Web site, the CSU system hopes to at least ease the pain of the incarcera-tion the students faced, and welcome the students back into the CSU.

When Beverly DiDomenico heard about the project, she was overjoyed.

Both of her parents were removed from their studies and placed in in-ternment camps during the spring of 1942, and neither were able to complete their education later.

“I know if the war hadn’t happened they would have finished school,” DiDomenico said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill calling for the project last summer. According to Colleen Bentley, who has been working on the project, the

See TITAN TRIO, Page 10

See NISEI, Page 2

The CSU system hopes to at least ease the pain of the incar-ceration the students faced, and welcome the students back into the CSU.

“

“

By Fred BLOOmDaily Titan Staff Writer

sports@dailytitan.com

Sophomore right-hander Tyler Pill pitches in to Arizona State Sun Devils.PhOTO By niCk marLey/daily Titan Photo editor

For the recordIt is the policy of the daily titan to correct any inaccurate informa-

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Please contact executive editor Sergio cabaruvias at 657-278-5815 or at execeditor@dailytitan.com with issues about this policy or to report any errors.

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2 March 18, 2010

INterNAtIoNALPakistan indicts 5 Americans on terror charges

Jobs bill headed to Obama’s desk

School gay-bashing not free speech, court rules

LOS ANGELES – Students at an elite Los Angeles private school who posted death threats and anti-gay messages on the Internet site of a 15-year-old classmate can’t claim the constitutional protection of free speech, a california appeals court has ruled.

The parents of the boy targeted by the threatening and derogatory posts on his Web site withdrew him from harvard-Westlake School.

They moved to Northern california to protect him from classmates who had incorrectly labeled him as gay and pronounced him “wanted dead or alive,” the boy’s father said in a lawsuit brought against six stu-dents and their parents. The defendants had attempted to deflect the charges by seeking a judgment from Los Angeles county Superior court that the comments were First Amendment-protected speech on an issue of public interest, a motion denied by the lower court and upheld by the 2nd district court of Appeal in a 2-1 decision Monday.

NAtIoNAL

StAte

IN other NeWS

ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani court Wednesday indicted five young Amer-icans from the Washington, d.c. area on charges of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

The men have been held in the eastern city of Sargodha since their arrests in december. If convicted, they could be sentenced to life in prison.

The five men, ages 18 - 24, are United States citizens of Pakistani, African and egyptian descent. They lived within blocks of one another in Alexan-dria, Va.

Police say the men left their homes in late November and flew to Paki-stan with the hope of waging jihad, or holy war, against American forces in Afghanistan.

Khalid Khawaja, one of the lawyers representing the men, said they were also charged with plotting attacks in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON – The Senate Wednesday passed by a 68-29 margin a $17.6 billion measure intended to spur hiring nationwide, sending the bill to the White house for the president’s expected signature.

once the bill becomes law, it would mark the first significant piece of job-creation legislation to pass since President Barack obama and the democratic congress earlier this year declared that they would “pivot” and focus on reversing widespread unemployment.

The bill would grant employers an exemption from their 6.2 per-cent Social Security payroll contribution for every new employee hired through the rest of the year, as long as that employee had been out of work for at least 60 days. An additional $1,000 income tax credit would be allowed for every new employee kept on the payroll for 52 weeks.

Students support gay rightsMembers of gay rights organiza-

tions from cal State Fullerton and cal Poly Pomona united Wednesday, March 17, to rally against Itawamba Agricultural high School’s prom can-cellation in Fulton, Miss., and West-boro Baptist church’s upcoming protest at dutchtown high School in dutchtown, La..

The American civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Itawam-ba high School for canceling prom due to a female student’s request to attend with a female date and wear a tuxedo, according to cNN.

Kamah Wilson, a member of cSUF’s Queer Straight Alliance, organized the protest as soon as she heard about the prom cancellation at Itawamba high School.

“I think after I got over the emo-tional part, that’s when I was think-ing, ‘don’t just be emotional,’” Wil-son said. “ ‘do something about it.’ ”

The protesters gathered at a table on the titan Walk holding hand-written signs, and concluded the movement by marching and chanting across campus.

Wilson said she expected a roughly 60-person turnout, but the protest involved around 20 people at the peak of its attendance.

Wilson, who moved to california from Gonzales, La. in May 2009, was further motivated to take action after she heard that Westboro Baptist church has planned to protest against dutchtown high School’s play, “The Laramie Project,” which features a gay man as its main character.

Westboro will protest against the play at dutchtown high School dur-ing the performance, according to WAFB, a news station in Louisiana.

By andrew kwokDaily Titan Staff Writer

news@dailytitan.com

nisei: survivors of american internmentFrom Page 1

Members of Queer Straight Alliance march pass Langsdorf Hall in protest in reaction to eents in Mississippi and Louisiana.photo By david munoz/daily titan staff writer

“

“ ...my relatives would get together and talk about camp ... I didn’t find out about the relocation camp until I was taking American history in high school. – Beverly didomenico

Gonzales is located near dutch-town, which is why the issue had a significant impact on Wilson.

Supporters of the movement were reached through Facebook, which is how cal Poly students like courtney true learned about the protest.

true, president of cal Poly’s Queer Students & Allies for equal-ity, grew up in texas and says she is familiar with institutionalized dis-crimination.

“In small towns, it’s very tradi-tional, it’s very religious,” true said. “hate like this is homegrown; it comes from religious backgrounds and your parents and how they be-lieve.”

true said that since california is more liberal than most Southern states, similar incidents involving gay

high school students may either be less prevalent or more overlooked.

“That’s another reason why we’re here – to bring it into the main-stream to let people be aware of what’s going on and the hate that’s being propagated all over the U.S.,” true said.

Katie claburn, a member of QSA, said she had heard of gay students who worked around school policies in order to have same-sex dates to their high school proms. claburn recalled that two couples had posed as opposite-sex dates and switched during the dance.

“No one hears about these issues,” claburn said.

“If they were more mainstream, it would get more coverage; people would see what a problem it really is.”

Q-SAFe plans to hold its own movement against Itawamba high School, but since cal Poly’s winter quarter has just ended, the organi-zation will have to wait until the week after cal Poly’s spring break, true said.

claburn said that although the problem at Itawamba high School could have been avoided if McMllen decided to go to the prom alone, Itawamba’s discrimi-nation against homosexuals is an important issue that needs to be addressed.

“In some places, it’s just still not accepted,” true said.

“that’s why this needs public-ity; that’s why this needs to be able to be seen by more than just the queer community.”

having heard about the Nisei diploma project, Sato says she feels very happy for her parents.

“It would have meant more to my father, because he studied very hard and then the war broke out and he had to stop.”

though Sato’s father did attend a Quaker college in Philadelphia for some time later, he had to leave in order to tend to his fam-ily’s farm back west.

“he continued his education, teaching himself.”

her mother, Mariko Sato, and her father, Jyuichi Sato, both at-t e n d e d what is now San d i e g o S t a t e Un ive r -sity at the time of the re-location.

S a t o and di-domenico both found out about the project through letters from

their parents’ schools. their par-ents are among the approximately

250 other Japane se -Amer ican s t u d e n t s that the cSU cam-puses are t r y i n g to find, t h o u g h B e n t l e y is quick

to point out that this is not an exact number.

“It’s as close as they can get,” she said, adding that it’s believed that, statewide, as many as 2,500 students were removed from their school during the internment.

that number comes from stud-ies done by other Japanese-Ameri-can organizations.

the ceremonies for the degrees are officially in May, but the cam-puses are being flexible with the dates, accounting for the sched-ules of family members attending and the wishes of the families.

“the campuses are being incred-ibly thoughtful,” Bentley said.

2

March 18, 2010 3

Cancer survivors start off Cal State Fullerton’s first Relay For Life on the engeneering and computer science lawn last year.photo By nick marley/Daily titan photo edior

By Sean laurino For The Daily Titannews@dailytitan.com

The second annual American Can-cer Society Relay for Life Cal State Ful-lerton will give students, faculty and staff the opportunity to work together to fight against cancer.

Relay for Life will last 24 hours, beginning Saturday, April 10 at 10:00 a.m. and ending Sunday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. Relay participants will walk around the Engineering and Comput-er Science building lawn to raise cancer awareness.

Relay for Life CSUF is a non-profit event that is part of the American Can-cer Society Colleges Against Cancer Program that raises money for cancer research and programs. Donations will support the Road to Recovery pro-gram, providing cancer patients rides to and from their medical treatment.

Kaila Zamites, 18, the Fight Back chairman for CSUF Relay for Life, said that the reason the relay will last 24 hours is because cancer never sleeps, so neither will the participants.

“One person from each team has to be walking at all times,” Zamites said.

According to the American Society of Cancer (ASC) there were an esti-mated 1.4 million new cases of cancer in 2009.

“Everyone has been affected by can-cer in some way,” Zamites added.

The event’s motto is “One Day. One Night. One Community. One Fight.”

The relay will start with the Sur-vivors’ Lap, in which all of the cancer survivors at the event will walk around the perimeter of the lawn together to celebrate their victorious battle over cancer. After that, the teams will begin their 24 hour walk. Live bands, games and raffles will keep the participants entertained during the relay. Raffle tickets will cost $1 and all the proceeds will go directly to the American Cancer Society.

The second portion of the relay, the Luminaria Ceremony, remembers vic-tims who lost in their battle with can-cer. Candles are lit inside paper bags that display the name of a person af-fected by cancer. The participants will then walk a lap in silence and get a feel for why defeating cancer is such an im-portant priority, Zamites said.

There were an estimated 562,000 deaths as a result of cancer in the United States in 2009, according to the ASC.

The Fight Back Ceremony wraps up the 24 hour event. Event partici-pants will each sign a purple cancer ribbon which represents a pledge to help save lives by taking up the fight against cancer. According to Zamites, a list of cancer fighting organizations will be listed to pro-vide participants the opportunity to contact an organization and vol-unteer.

Laura Lee, 23, a biology major and the event’s co-chair, has high expectations for this year’s event.

“Our goal is to have 45 groups

participating and to raise $37,000,” said Lee.

Money is raised through registra-tion fees, donations and fundraising events.

Registration is $100 per team or $10 for individuals who want to par-ticipate.

Even though team captains must be CSUF students, faculty or staff mem-bers, everyone can take part of this event and join a team.

CSUF Relay for Life team develop-ment chairman Danielle Riniolo, 20, is taking part in the relay for her cousin.

“My cousin has had cancer since she was 8 years old and my main moti-vation is her,” Riniolo said.

She is also the captain of Team In-finity that has worked deals with local restaurants to host fundraising nights.

Coldstone at the Orangefair Mall in Fullerton will donate 15 percent of customer purchases from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on March 22 to CSUF Re-lay for Life.

The Cantina Lounge in Fullerton will host an all-day event on March 25 and donate 20 percent of customer purchases directly to the CSUF Relay of Life.

Other student groups will also host fundraisers on the day of the event, such as bake or craft sales.

Registration will be open until the day of the event at Relayforlife.org/calstatefullertonCA.

Even if an individual cannot attend the event, they can still help fight can-cer by donating through the Web site.

Students to fight cancer at annual relay

From Page 1

lmFao:the BanD SignS on

Business club hosts octa speakerBy katie roSSomano

Daily Titan Staff Writernews@dailytitan.com

Jerry Amante speaks to Cal State Fullerton students about OCTA, his experiences as mayor of Tustin and about his political stance at the TSU on Wednesday.

photo By katie roSSomano/Daily titan Staff Writer

The Board of Directors approves the artists and then we can go into contract with the artist,” Carnero said.

LMFAO, with three number one hits in 2009, performed at Florida State University and UCI and will be opening for the Black Eyed Peas this spring, was one of the few acts within financial range.

“I think it is going to be a huge concert for Cal State Fullerton,” said junior political science major and ASI Chief Governmental Officer Gregory Washington. “LMFAO is really pop-ular and I think this will be by far the

most popular Spring Concert we have had yet.”

Last year, the Spring Concert was sold out, but only 2,000 people at-tended the show.

“This year we're aiming for another sold out show as well as a completely packed stadium,” Carnero said.

The Spring Concert is limited to 3,000 students (2,500 students and 500 guests) and is considered a closed event.

“I would totally go see LMFAO. They are a really upbeat and energetic group that will definitely bring the school community together,” said se-nior child and adolescent development major Mary Jo Pluchino.

ASI made changes to the show in order to bring in greater audiences.

“We got a lot of complaints about the line being too long last year. This year, we've made adjustments to move the line twice as fast,” Carnero said. “Also, this year's concert won't have a rock band, unlike the last three years. We have one huge headliner and a more up-and-coming opening act rather than co-headliners like last year.”

The concert will take place at the Ti-tan Stadium April 16. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event beings at 7 p.m.

Admission for students is free and the guest fee is $10. Tickets go on sale at the TSU Info Services Monday, March 22.

The chairman of the Orange County Transportation Author-ity (OCTA) spoke at Cal State Fullerton yesterday about its ad-ministration, struggle with bud-get cuts and recent innovations.

Chairman Jerry Amante is also the mayor of Tustin, a Re-publican candidate for state legislature and an experienced corporate real estate lawyer.

Amante spoke to about 20 students in CSUF’s Titan Stu-dent Union. He arrived dressed in a suit and tie; attire that was inconsistent with his casual, amiable manner.

He made himself comfort-able by leaning on the table at the front of the room and then jumped into the conversation about OCTA.

He began by informing the group about what makes OCTA unique from other transportation authorities.

“OCTA handles everything that moves (in Orange County), with the exception of planes,” Amante said.

He said that OCTA is one of the largest transportation authorities in the nation, with over 2,000 em-ployees.

Amante said that OCTA is unique because it runs on self-suf-ficient funding that is derived from a half-cent sales tax.

He said that it has a $1.1 billion budget this year. Each tax dollar is divided accord-ingly: 42 cents to freeways, 32 cents to streets and 25 cents to transit.

He also emphasized the innova-tive measures that OCTA is taking, such as improving safety measures at railroad crossings and initiating massive Metrolink expansion.

Amante said that OCTA has been affected by large budget cuts. Last year, it lost $20 million that would have financed buses. How-ever, he said that OCTA made adjustments at the administrative level before impacting lower level employees.

OCTA is governed by 18 elect-ed, appointed and public of-ficials.

They cut the number of their meetings by half and used electronics to make the re-maining meet-ings paperless.

Jaina Ban-sil, a sophmore business ma-jor, attended A m a n t e ’ s speech.

“I just want-ed to find out what OCTA is doing right now. I’m a bus rider. I was also curious because he’s the mayor,” Bansil said. She said that she was inspired by the perspective Amante provided on the advantages of be-ing a leader. He discussed being in

a position of power as a way to give back to the community.

When Amante asked the au-dience for questions, Bansil in-quired about the increased rates to ride buses, and the decreased number of routes.

Amante said that it was ex-tremely difficult for OCTA to cut routes, but that the admin-istration did its best to elimi-nate the least used routes.

He also said that it costs about $1.50 to ride the bus, but that the actual cost is $6 and tax money covers the difference.

CSUF’s Future Business Leaders of America Phi Beta Lambda student organization invited Amante to speak on campus.

Patrick Tomas, co-president, said that the organization meets three times a month and tries to have a professional speaker at-tend each meeting.

Tomas said that he has some aspiration to go into policy making in the future, and that Amante’s talk encouraged him.

“I just really liked his person-ality, he was causal, he gave his own perspective rather than be-ing all political,” Tomas said.

“

“I just wanted to find out what OCTA is doing right now... I was also just curious because he is the mayor.

– Jaina Bansil Business major

4 March 18, 2010

The expansion of medical marijuana is something that has been damaging to the mor-al fiber of the United States.

Medical marijuana is ob-tained with a medical marijua-na card and there are countless Americans who are fabricating illnesses to get their hands on a card to ensure their recre-ational use of marijuana is not considered illegal.

Medical marijuana cards are obtained with ease and the il-legalization of marijuana is be-ing forced to sit in the backseat of a hypothetical car, being hot-boxed by the law-evading pothead and his or her stoner friends.

The U.S. has turned to lies and deceit in order to get its hands on the sticky icky.

Marijuana is sometimes used to treat illnesses like HIV and multiple sclerosis. It is no mystery that it does have heal-ing potential.

Massachusetts joined the growing, yet still short, list of states that have legalized medi-cal marijuana.

The state voted 65 percent in favor of people being caught holding an ounce or less of marijuana being charged with

a civil offense as opposed to a criminal offense.

It’s funny that on the same ballot greyhound racing was banned.

Nearly 62 percent of all of the children and young adults, ages 12-17, in drug treatment centers in 2000 had a primary marijuana diagnosis.

TV shows like “That ‘70’s Show” condone the smoking of marijuana without conse-quence or harm, making it an attractive activity to children and teens.

Marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more carcino-genic hydrocarbons than to-bacco smoke.

These carcinogenic hydro-carbons increase the risk of bronchitis and emphysema, as well as lung cancer. It also leads to changes in the brain, causing reduced cognitive functions.

It’s a mere myth that mari-juana is harmless and not ad-dictive.

Marijuana use affects alert-ness, concentration and reac-tion time, all necessities to the safe operation of automobiles. Young people tend to underes-timate the dangers of drugged driving.

Non-pot smokers often re-fer the long term affecting of senses such as these as: smok-ing yourself stupid.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an emergency department epi-sode was conducted involving marijuana usage revealing that it almost tripled from 1994 to 2002, making marijuana the most widely used illicit drug in the U.S.

By james GoBeeDaily Titan Staff Writer opinion@dailytitan.com

By melissa HoonDaily Titan Staff Writeropinion@dailytitan.com

Does the expansion of legal medical marijuana do more harm than good?

Imagine your mother suf-fers from epilepsy. The Di-lantin her doctor prescribed is not effectively controlling her seizures, so he prescribes a remedy he is almost certain will work: marijuana.

No, I’m not some pot-smoking hippie who thinks weed can act as Jesus’ healing hand to all, but let’s get real. Marijuana has been proven to alleviate health problems, so what’s the big deal with pa-tients smoking a little pot?

The possible side effects of marijuana, like paranoia, are short-term and are not as det-rimental to patients’ overall health like other medications prescribed for health prob-lems, such as ADHD, can be.

Marley Rosner, 23, an American studies graduate student, said his friends with ADHD were prescribed Rit-alin and became extremely depressed, so they objected to taking it.

Rejecting medication? I can understand why patients run screaming to avoid popping pills that make their heart and mind race so fast they can’t think straight, but I can’t see a patient avoiding a drug that

will do just the opposite.But marijuana can be addic-

tive and – gasp! – it’s been said to be a gateway drug. Accord-ing to Dr. Colin Blakemore, department chair of physiolo-gy at the University of Oxford, only 10 percent of marijuana users become physiolocially dependent.

“Unlike for nicotine, alco-hol and hard drugs, there is no clearly defined withdrawal syndrome, the hallmark of true addiction, when (marijuana) use is stopped,” Blakemore said.

And a gateway drug? Please. Marijuana comes first because it’s most easily accessible. If a fourth of teens at the local high school made their car payments with money from selling cocaine instead of weed, then cocaine would be dubbed the latest “gateway drug.”

Yes, marijuana can cause some lung damage. That’s precisely the reason why me-dicinal marijuana should be legal nationwide. Patients with medical marijuana cards can buy edible marijuana prod-ucts, like cookies and cooking oil, thus eliminating the inha-lation of the ever-so-harmful smoke.

Since people without medi-cal problems find ways to ob-tain medical marijuana cards, some say its recreational use will increase. But let’s face it: people who obtain a card for recreational use are going to get a hold of marijuana one way or another.

So why not purchase it le-gally at a marijuana store as opposed to from a busboy pot dealer your girlfriend’s cousin’s best friend told you about?

Letter to the EditorWe offer this letter as a response to Dr.

Milton Gordon’s request for input from the university’s “Strategic Planning Summary” released March 9, 2010.

We write as students concerned with the present state and future direction of the University…

We believe that the cultivation of hu-manistic values, and with this also the intel-lectual development of critically-engaged, cosmopolitan individuals, is neither inci-dental to, nor merely a desirable aspect of, a university education. This is a core function of the university, and should be regarded as such.

We resent being referred to in planning documents simply as “consumers,” “clients” or “human capital.” We are human beings, first and foremost, and should be educated as such...

We fear that current proposals to discon-tinue the French, German and Portuguese language programs, and with this also the classical guitar performance program, are merely the first steps towards a more sys-tematic restructuring of the University…

We remind Cal State Fullerton’s strategic planners that, as students, we do not nec-essarily attend university simply to acquire professional “certificates and licenses”… or to better position ourselves for a future in the workforce. We are not here to be pro-grammed as machines designed solely for the generation and accumulation of wealth, personal or otherwise. We are not here to be trained simply as efficient or productive members of society.

We are here, instead, because we desire to become critically-engaged members of soci-ety. We are here to better inform ourselves about the world around us, to question our beliefs and broaden our worldviews. We are here, in short, because the University provides us with opportunities for personal growth and self-discovery, and for engage-ment in and with our society. Such pursuits have a social value that cannot be reduced to one-dimensional monetary considerations.

We recognize that we are living in troubled economic times, and that difficult choices must be made to sustain the university over the course of the next few years. We are concerned, however, that hasty, short-term cuts to various programs and services will have a permanent impact on the structure, reputation and ultimately definition of our university. We fear that such cuts will serve to undermine the university’s fundamental mission to educate.

In light of these statements, we respect-fully ask that the university’s strategic plan-ners take the following points into consid-eration:

1. That course and program offerings in

the humanities, social sciences and fine arts are core to the definition of the university, and to the quality of its graduates…

2. That “timely graduation” is important, but only insofar as it does not compromise our ability to mature intellectually, and to grow as human beings…

3. That it is crucial for the university to continue allocating resources to programs which are dedicated in full or in part to the representation of minority and underrepre-sented groups…

4. That it is essential for the university to offer a “broad, high quality and full array of programs,” and to support and promote the notion of learning for its own sake…

5. That the research our professors do is not just valuable in and of itself, but is es-sential to the quality of our education, and to the reputation of our university…

6. That it would be in the interest of stu-dents and faculty alike to rethink the uni-versity’s reliance on under-paid part-time faculty…

7. That it is not desirable to adopt peda-gogical models that institutionalize online instruction as the principal or sole method for educating students…

8. That it is essential to commit to, and reinvest in, smaller classes, ones in which students are better able to engage with course content, and with each other…

9. That it is of particular importance to respond vigorously to accusations that the theoretical (and thus “unapplied”) work we do as university students is “esoteric,” and somehow divorced from “reality.” … In-stead of pandering to, and thus reinforcing, the prevalent anti-intellectual currents in contemporary society, the university needs to be at the forefront of a broader move-ment to reassert the value of learning and knowledge as a social, cultural, and moral “good,” and not just as an economic or technological necessity…

Signed,Jackie Bebawi, HistoryRodrigo Calderon, College of the ArtsSamantha Guzzi, History

On behalf of Students for the Re-Hu-manization of Society and the University.

the.discussion1@gmail.com

This letter has been trimmed for space. Every occurance of an elipses (“...”) indi-cates a place where the authors trimmed back.

To view the full-length version of this letter, visit: DailyTitan.com/2010/03/stra-tegic-planning/

March 18, 2010 5

Shades of Green“Made from 100% all-natural opinion”

No ‘brakes’ for fixie ridersby April Ehrlich

Daily Titan Features Editoropinion@dailytitan.com

“

“Most of these hipsters are hardly experienced riders, and are not skilled enough to avoid the most common fixie catastrophes.

Articles written for the Daily Titan by columnists, other Cal State Fullerton students or guests do not necessarily reflect the view of the Daily Titan or Daily Titan Editorial Board. Only the editorials are representative of the views of the Daily Titan Editorial Board.

FOr ThE rECOrD

War for oil still going strongOn the impending seventh anni-

versary of the war in Iraq, the truth that our government caused the deaths of roughly 100,000 civilians and 4,400 United States soldiers in an abominable quagmire for oil is utterly and immorally silent.

As if to excuse ourselves, we call the invasion of Iraq a “mistake,” say that our war on terror “went off course” or argue that the intelli-gence used to justify the occupation happened to be “faulty.”

But in a world where Wall Street banks perpetrate fraud to the tune of hundreds of billions of dol-lars; health insurance companies abandon their promise of coverage to customers the minute they be-come deathly ill; U.S. presidential elections are blatantly stolen by a hyper-partisan Supreme Court and democracy in the “land of the free” is narrowed down to a choice between two parties bought and owned by corporations, why are we still so incapable of admitting that former President George W. Bush purposely drove the U.S. to war with Iraq solely for profiteering?

Yes, it can happen here. In fact, it is a truth no longer debatable.

While this nation's constitution speaks gracefully and powerfully about the natural rights of man, the Iraqi constitution speaks of crude oil – referred to in Article 26, which reads that the government shall “insure the full investment of its resources, di-versification of its sources, and the encouragement and development of the private sec-tor.”

In layman’s terms, the national-ization of the country’s oil under Saddam hussein would be out-lawed. Taking its place would be crony-capitalism and corporatism dominated by Western oil con-glomerates.

Of this particular constitutional article and a parallel law passed by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, the Glob-al Policy Forum (GPF), a United Nations policy watchdog, wrote that, “Placed in context, it can be seen as laying the ground for radical change in Iraq's oil industry, which will be unique among the major oil producers of the Middle East… Contracts will be signed with for-eign oil companies during the first nine months of 2006, opening the majority of Iraq's oilfields to West-ern companies for the first time in 33 years.”

For Bush and his people, remov-ing hussein was like cracking open a 10 trillion dollar petroleum trea-sure chest that had proved uncon-querable for decades.

The GPF went on to describe the economic impact the U.S. invasion would have for lucky oil compa-nies, saying, “In the new setting, with Washington running the show, ‘friendly’ companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming

Too often have I ridden the streets of Orange County on a road bicycle only to have some beefed-up meat-head nearly slam me with his pickup truck and yell, “Get some gears!”

My bike has ten speeds.Apparently, the term “fixie” has

been so carelessly tossed around with its ever-growing trendiness that its meaning has confused the average Southern California citizen into be-lieving that all bikes with “skin-ny wheels” have no gears and no brakes.

Still, you can’t really blame these unobservant residents for their confusion – fixed-gear bi-cycles, naked of anything but a frame, a chain and crank, have swarmed suburban streets whilst carelessly side-swiping 16-wheeler delivery trucks and soccer moms speeding to get their children to the game on time.

Although it’s a grand thing to have kids exercising and utilizing eco-friendly modes of transporta-tion, many of them are riding brake-less bikes with fixed gears – meaning the pedals are always in motion as the bike is moving. If the kid stops ped-aling, the pedals keep moving unless he kicks his foot at the back tire to make it skid to a slow stop.

Why would anyone want to ride a bike that cannot immediately stop, you ask?

The idea of a lightweight bicycle

uninhibited by brakes and gears was utilized by professional track racing – with track bikes, not road bikes. Track bikes race on specified, un-deterred tacks and fixed petals only benefit these riders in maintaining their speed.

Little do young fixie riders of to-day realize that their converted road bikes are only mimicking professional riders who rode on carefully planned paths. Now, they have taken this idea to the streets of Southern California, where vehicles speed in inflammato-ry road rage and where there are few

pedestrians to look out for, let alone cyclists plunging between lanes.

An article titled “Are Brakes for Flakes?” published by the British mes-senger zine Moving Target, touches upon the primary reasons for riding brake-less: it allows the bike to look more sleek and enhances the rider’s awareness and riding skills.

The author, Buffalo Bill, also notes, “Brakeless riders claim that their skill level on a fixed wheel bike is so high that they can stop in the

same distance as a regular bike – well, this may or may not be true, but however quickly you can stop, if you bolt a brake on to your bike you will be able to stop quicker!”

Although riders may feel a com-petition amongst themselves, riding on the road is no playing field. El-ders, children and disabled people may not agree with the risks of riding brake-less, yet riders are forcing risk upon them.

Nevertheless, there is one argu-ment that I can’t argue against when it comes to riding fixed: “There is

an almost mystical connec-tion between a fixed-gear cy-clist and bicycle, it feels like an extension of your body to a greater extent than does a freewheel-equipped machine,” writes cycling enthusiast Shel-don Brown in “Coasting is Bad For You.” Unfortunately, most of these hipsters are hardly experienced riders, and are not skilled enough to avoid the most common fixie catas-trophes.

Although no one can deny an athlete’s desire to “take it to the next level,” most of these brake-less, helmet-less fixed riders are doing it for the sake of belonging to a trendy cult. And hey, guess what all you hip-pies, we live in Fullerton. This place is probably the most car-ridden, least bike-friendly area.

remember that you’re hearing this from a cyclist who was hit by a car attempting to avoid a freeway en-trance, so let me tell you, our streets are not built for riding.

by cort tAfoyA Daily Titan Staff Writeropinion@dailytitan.com

decades.”With help from corporate media,

the Bush administration purposely created a panicky post-9/11 U.S., spewed reckless weapons of mass desruction hype and flagrantly un-truthful Iraq/Al-Qaeda connections all so they could muster up support for war.

But they made it a point to keep a riveting truth under wraps: The removal of Saddam hussein would give way to arguably the most prof-itable economic opportunity in the history of the world.

Set aside the confusing, ever-changing rationale for our inva-sion, and remember what Academy

Award winner Jack Nicholson said in the 1990 mystery thrill-er, “The Two Jakes”: “You can follow the action, which gets you good pictures. You can follow your instincts, which will probably get you in trou-ble. Or you can follow the mon-

ey, which nine times out of 10 will get you closer to the truth.”

This ugly truth about oil and money is out there.

You just have to find it. A num-ber of high-ranking officials and leaked documents have detailed for years the Bush administration's in-fatuation with Iraq and its oil pre-9/11, proving without a shadow of doubt our invasion had nothing to do with Bush’s radical thesis that if the U.S. could only spread democ-racy throughout the Middle East, Islamic terrorists would disappear or that magically, the world had "changed" after 9/11.

Back in 2002, a court order forced the U.S. Commerce Depart-ment to release documents con-cerning the activities of then-Vice President Dick Cheney as well as his energy team, which unsurpris-ingly was made up of leaders from the oil industry.

The documents revealed that eight months before 9/11 this task force created maps of Iraq’s oil fields, terminals, refineries and pipelines, as well as a list of foreign suitors who would likely be inter-ested in oilfield contracts.

It is also an irrefutable certainty that oil industry executives were inexplicably made aware of an im-

pending war with Iraq that not even the families of military men and women were told would occur.

Jan. 16, 2003, two months be-fore the invasion, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Executives of U.S. oil companies are confer-ring with officials from the White house, the Department of Defense and the State Department to figure out how best to jump-start Iraq's oil industry following a war.”

The heartlessness of those in power during the build up of the war cannot be more evident than in stories like these.

rarely would I advise listening to a former chairman of the Federal reserve, but even Alan Greenspan, a Bush crony and connected Wash-ington elite, recently wrote about America’s motive for invading Iraq in his memoir, admitting, “I am saddened that it is politically incon-venient to acknowledge what every-one knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

Candor like this from high-rank-ing officials in government has to be expressed more frequently if this country is ever going to be honest about why we are in Iraq.

Whether it was imaginary weap-ons of mass destruction, “freeing” Iraq’s people or preventing the country from becoming a haven for al-Qaeda, the Bush administration never ran out of ways to justify the war.

But it was all a lie. Now it’s just a matter of when we’re going to ad-mit it as a nation.

photo courtESy mct

Oil industry executives were explicably made aware of an impending war with Iraq that not even the families of military men and women were told would occur. “

“

Band chills its way to the top

Snow in Africa is(from left to right): Brian Penhall, Nick Soliday, Matthew Cheung, and Martin Molina

Photo Courtesy of snow In AfrICA

By MelIssA hoonDaily Titan Staff Writersoundoff@dailytitan.com

For fans of: Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, The Killers

We've all heard that hard work and determination are the key in-gredients to success. Need living proof that this is true? Just ask Snow In Africa.

Snow In Africa, a Long Beach-based band consisting of Nick Soliday (lead vocals, guitar), Bri-an Penhall (bass, vocals), Martin Molina (lead guitar, vocals) and Matthew Cheung (drums, vocals), formed just over a year ago and has already played packed shows at world-famous Hollywood ven-ues like the Viper Room and Key Club.

"The goal of Snow In Africa has always been to push the limit of our abilities and break into un-charted territory," Soliday said.

With an upcoming national tour – and a European tour in the works – Snow In Africa (often compared to the sound of the Killers, Nickel-back and Foo Fighters) is about to do just that. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The group of Southern Califor-nia natives comes from humble beginnings, forming out of sheer serendipity when Alan, the band's current manager, caught Soliday playing an acoustic set at a cof-fee shop in Long Beach. Alan had been looking to start a new arena rock band since, according to him, only old bands like U2, Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi, were selling out arenas. He wanted something new and fresh, and decided Soliday could be the first piece to his new rock group puzzle.

Soliday moved into Alan's “band house” – a secret location where Snow In Africa now writes, prac-tices and records – and together, they embarked on their search for musicians to form a band. Penhall and Molina responded to ads, and Cheung came by the house looking to rent a room. Instead, the guys discovered he was a drummer and had a five-hour jam session. The rest is history.

Since the group's formation,

they have released a self-titled EP and are about to release their first album. The Key Club hosted Snow In Africa's first show, where they played an 18 song set with a five song encore. Not bad for a first performance.

Their national tour kicks off in April – their goal is to play 54 shows in a month, according to Soliday. In the meantime, they are writing and recording nonstop and consistently play shows in Orange County and Los Angeles, most of-ten at Club Moscow.

One of the most interesting factors to the multi-faceted band is the fact that they live together in their band house. Considering most living situations like this on reality shows (“America's Next Top Model”, “Big Brother,” “The Bach-elor,” etc.) are usually a recipe for disaster, you might be wondering if arguments frequently break out amongst this group of guys in their early twenties.

On the contrary. The band house is a songwriting haven and a cata-lyst for success because it forces the guys to remain focused and deter-mined.

“We get along 90 percent of the time,” Penhall said, “which is pret-

ty damn good for four guys living together.”

Penhall notes that arguments usually occur because someone “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” – which sometimes happens because the group will stack cans waist-high in front of one of the guys' bedroom doors so they can't get out.

“We are human and sometimes we don't see eye to eye,” Molina said, “but that's normal for people who are around each other 24/7.”

Snow In Africa remains down-to-earth despite having big goals such as wanting to attract a world-wide audience.

“We consider ourselves blue col-lar musicians,” Molina said. “But we are driven musicians in pursuit of our goals.”

Keep your eyes and ears out for more upcoming music from Snow In Africa. That won't be hard to do considering the explosion that's about to erupt with their new al-bum and upcoming tour.

“We want to rock until we're old crippled men pumped full of heart medicine and Viagra,” Soliday said. “But most importantly, we want to permanently touch the hearts of our fans with our music.”

A concise definition of music

By KrIsten hulseyDaily Titan Design Editor

soundoff@dailytitan.com

The concept of defining music seems like more of an abstract chal-lenge than a fixed equation. Obvi-ously, when it comes down to it, everyone has a different opinion of what constitutes music. If they didn’t, your buzz wouldn’t be killed at 10 p.m. by your irate mom de-manding that you turn off “that racket.” But where do these varying opinions collide, and at what point does a definition become apparent, if at all?

To answer this question, I asked people with contrasting musi-cal preferences – a Latin music producer’s daughter, a DJ and an indie rock band guitarist – what they think defines music. Not-so-surprisingly, each had a different genre of choice. However, all three seemed to have the same basic idea when it came to what c o n s t i t u t e d music. And, although mu-sic may some-times be the dividing fac-tor in social in t e r ac t ion , it seems that we are united when it comes to the defini-tion, or lack thereof, of melody.

Music is the lifeblood of Ameri-can culture; at least, that’s what the ‘60s taught us. Maggie Mar-tinez, business major and daugh-

ter of Latin music producer Javier Martinez, believes that real music hasn’t thrived since the beloved hippie days, when bands like Jef-ferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead preformed on stages across the globe. “I look at lyrics in mu-sic, rather than just beats, because with everything becoming so elec-tronic it seems fake and soulless,” she added. When asked to define music, Maggie argued that there

are multiple cat-egories and that true music lovers understand that different people express them-selves in different ways.

“There are dif-ferent kinds of people, races and religions. Why can’t there be dif-ferent types of music?”

Ivan Lopez, better known as DJ iL, has a

somewhat different taste in music. He prefers West Coast hip-hop, a hip-hop sub-genre. Though his loy-alty is to a different genre, his opin-ion on music is similar to Maggie’s.

He reasoned that everybody has his or her own taste, and “you have to keep an open mind and an open ear.” Additionally, his definition of music is “anything that moves you, motivates you, and touches your soul.”

Marco Padilla, lead guitarist for indie band Glacier Skies, prefers just that – indie rock. Marco said the beauty of indie lies in its devia-tion from popular sound. Simply put, he enjoys its non-mainstream rawness. Similar to Maggie and Ivan, Marco argued that there is no single definition of music. To him, music is simply something creative or expressive that someone pro-duces, and a passion for music can be defined as something that gets in the way of other socially “impor-tant” things.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, the general consensus is in: music has no single definition. To try and define it seems almost disrespectful to music itself. Of course, there are common elements of music, such and counts and beats, but to sim-plify music into a finite set of beats is to rob it of the passion and soul that makes it important to so many people. Music is an art and, as with other forms of art, its beauty lies in the eye, or ear, of the beholder.

GrAPhIC By KrIsten hulsey/Daily titan Design editor

I asked people with contrasting musical preferences – a Latin music producer’s daughter, a DJ and an indie rock band guitarist – what they think defines music. Not-so-surprisingly, each had a different genre of choice.

“

“

6 March 18, 2010

March 18, 2010 7

This Week at the Becker: Nico VegaBy Oscar rOmerO

Daily Titan Staff WriterSoundoff@dailytitan.com

Associated Students Inc. Produc-tions brought Cal State Fullerton stu-dents another edition of Wednesday concert at the Becker Amphitheatre featuring the band Nico Vega.

Playing seven of their original songs, Nico Vega had a wholehearted performance in front of the CSUF crowd of about 100. Despite the heat and technical difficulties, the band managed to put on an engaging and peculiar show.

“The sound was really good. The band is good,” said 29-year-old Mi-chael Caffell.

Much of the show consisted of a passionate and uncanny Aja Volk-mann, lead singer, as she strutted, jumped and climbed around the am-phitheatre.

This indie band is a culmination of rock and soul with an energetic vibe. They play the kind of music that makes you want to get up and dance.

Musically, they are reminiscent of The White Stripes, and are just as in-strumentally simple with brisk and catchy songs. Nico Vega tunes feature

a mixture of slow and fast tempos with tempestuous beats. The vocals resonated like a nostalgic ‘60s perfor-mance by Janis Joplin.

Despite having the deceptive name of a solo act, Nico Vega is a lively trio coming out of Los Angeles.

“Nico Vega came from the original drummers mother’s maiden name,” said Koehler. “She lived a cool legacy and we thought we can con-tinue that because she is not with us anymore.”

Comprising the band is Volkman per-forming vocals, Dan Epand on drums and Rich Koehler on gui-tar. With a little over four years playing together, the band has released several EP’s and a full length self-titled album in 2009.

A lot of their songs feature psyche-delic and experimental sounds gener-ated from influences like Black Sab-bath, Led Zeppelin, John Coltrane

and Miles Davis. They also credit funkadelic as a source of inspiration.

As for writing their songs, Koehler develops a riffs with other parts of the song, and together they “jam it out.”

“Aja is really great with the lyrics and Melody,” said Epand. “It hap-pens pretty spontaneously and fast.”

The band opened with the song “Medi-cine Man.” The lyri-cal content expressed a woman’s want in a man.

Among the other songs, Nico Vega performed the crowd favorite “Gravity” an indelible tune about teasing. One the more memorable lyrics of the song, mimicked by the guitar, was “Nanan-ananana,” a play on the classic schoolyard taunt.

Nico Vega plans to release a new album some time early next year.

The band takes off on tour along the Pacific Coast in collaboration with Metric.

MultimediaTo see Nico Vega’s perfor-

mance visit:

www.dailytitan.com/ni-covega

Events Calendar For March 18-20csUF alumnus drops criminal justice for a career in music

Stemming from the soul, Tristes-sa, a Los Angeles rock band, offers dramatic and heartfelt music “that anyone can relate to, cry to, laugh to, or sing (along) with,” said lead singer Jude Hernandez.

Tristessa comes from a book of the same name, written by Jack Kerouac, which means melancholy or sadness.

“That’s what I was writing at the time of my life. Those types of songs. I realized it fit perfectly,” Hernandez said.

Born in Downey and raised in Rolling Heights, Hernandez at-tended Mt. San Antonio College and earned a bachelors degree in criminal justice at Cal State Fuller-ton.

However, Hernandez’s aspira-

By ashley lUUDaily Titan Staff WriterSoundoff@dailytitan.com

tions changed.At age 22, Hernandez picked

up the guitar and was immediately drawn to it because it felt natural to strum the chords and create melo-dies.

Within a few years, Hernandez taught himself how to play the gui-tar and was inspired to keep writing music after a successful performance at an open mic.

After two years of hard work, Hernandez and his band came out with Listen to Echoes, Tristessa’s de-but album, which included 11 alter-native and psychedelic rock songs with emotional lyrics.

Hernandez said that his favorite song, “Listen to Echoes,” is a time-less piece, written for his wife when they were dating.

“When I was recording it, I start-ed crying. The chorus came out in a few minutes and it just felt good,” Hernandez added.

Inspired by The Beatles, The Verve and early Radiohead music, Hernandez said that, “it’s music anyone can relate to. There’s emo-tions from being very happy, to be-ing in love, to feeling heartbroken.”

Hernandez is motivated to cre-ate music by practicing his guitar or piano or through experiences with his wife and son.

“Being a father is so new to me. All these emotions come out. When you play a guitar, you sing a melody and the words just come out,” Her-nandez said.

Songs can stem from recent ex-periences, childhood memories or when you’re in tune with music in a spiritual sense. In the end, it all connects, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said that he has ner-vous moments because he questions whether or not he has chosen the proper venue, and if audience mem-bers enjoy his music.

“I think nervousness is healthy because it shows you still have the desire to do well,” he added.

Hernandez said that he lays his heart out on stage because it’s “like a baseball game…I can stay quiet, relax and gather my thoughts, visualize how the songs will flow and even what I’ll say in between certain songs.”

Tristessa currently con-sists of lead singer, Jude Hernandez, guitar player, Jay Gregorio, and bass player, Brian Marcial.

“A lot of times, you have to remember that maybe you won’t be famous or well-liked, but you’re do-ing something (that) is a gift. That’s what makes me feel alive and that’s why I do it. It’s so much fun,” Hernandez said.

Tristessa will perform at The Gypsy Den March 26 in Santa Ana.

Xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx. Xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxBy XXXXXX XXXXX/Daily Titan staff Photographer

Jude Hernandez, CSUF ciminal justice alumnus, formed Tristessa at the age of 22 aafter taking up the guitar.

PhOTO By aBigal TaNOri/For The Daily Titan

Thursday, March 18

Agent Orange at Key Club8:30 p.m. 16+, $13

Wrong Way Driver at Spaceland8:30 p.m., 21+, $5

Xiu Xiu at The Echo8:30 p.m., 18+, $8

Bad Religion at House of Blues, Anaheim7:00 p.m., all ages

New Found Glory at House of Blues, Hollywood Strip7:00 pm., all ages, $19.50

Sick Puppies at The Galaxy8:00 p.m., all ages, $15

Friday, March 19

Beth Hart at The Echo7:00 p.m., all ages, $15

Brian Fallon (of the Gaslight Anthem) at The Troubadour8:00 p.m., all ages, $15 DJ Momjeans aka Danny Mas-terson at Detroit Bar10 p.m. 21+, $10

Donovan at The El Rey Theatre7:3 0p.m. all ages, $25

Rachelle Ferrell at Catalina Bar and Grill10:00 p.m., 21+, $25

I AM GHOST at The Galaxy8:00p.m. all ages, $12

Let’s Paint TV at Echo Curio9:00 p.m., all ages, $5

Gomez at the El Rey Theatre8:00 p.m., all ages, $23

Database at The Echoplex9:00 p.m., 18+, $12

Mia Doi Todd at Bootleg8:00 p.m., 21+, $10

Beth Hart at The Echo7:00 p.m., all ages, $15

New Found Glory at House of Blues, Anaheim6:30 p.m., all ages, $20

Saturday, March 20

March 18, 20108

By Matthew BaldwinFor The Daily Titan

Soundoff@dailytitan.com

Indie-rock band Manchester Orchestra have made quite a name for themselves after last year’s well-received al-bum, Mean Everything to Nothing. Manchester Or-chestra headlined a two night stay at The Trouba-dour in Los Angeles on March 9 and 10.

It’s no surprise both dates were sold out, and on March 10 The Trou-badour was packed with everyone anticipating Manchester Orchestra’s performance.

“I wanted to see (Manchester Orchestra) because I’m a fan,” said Theresa Garcia, 25, of Ventura.

“I love their songs and connect with their lyrics.”

Holly Brooks, 28, of LA, said that the band’s passion, as well as hailing from a neighboring town in Georgia, was why she was a fan of Manchester Orchestra.

Opening the night was Atlanta, Georgia’s own O’Brother. Sound-ing similar to Brand New’s softer material, O’Brother spent a major-ity of their half hour set complain-ing about how bad they sounded.

After came Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Biffy Clyro had quite a large fan base at the show, and sounded similar to Muse.

Following were The Features from Nashville, Tenn. They had a similar sound to Manchester Or-chestra, and put on a pretty impres-sive set.

Then came time for the main act.

Manchester Orchestra’s front man and guitarist Andy Hull came out before the band, and broke into “50 Cent,” an ode to the rapper.

The rest of the band joined Hull and broke into “Now that You’re

Home,” off the album I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child.

The band’s sound has a pretty di-verse range. At times they were soft and ambient, with Hull sounding eerily similar to Kermit the Frog. At other times, the band channeled their inner-Nirvana, complete with background screams.

Manchester Orchestra’s set was a nice balance between I’m Like a Vir-gin and Mean Everything to Noth-ing, including tracks like “Shake it Out,” “My Friend Marcus,” “I’ve Got Friends,” and “Everything to Nothing.” It also included was a cover of Neil Young’s “Walk On.”

The band did not speak very much in-between songs, though Hull did say that Manchester Or-chestra were heading into the studio this summer to record the follow up to Mean Everything to Nothing, and played a new song that will be on the album.

“I thought they performed pretty well” said Garcia.

“Amazing” said Brooks. Although not everybody shared

their sentiments.“I thought they were ok,” said

Kaitlyn Hennigan, 25, of Los An-geles. “I thought they were better the first time I saw them.”

Frightened Rabbit – the winter of Mixed drinks

By SklaR SMithDaily Titan Opinion Editor

Soundoff@dailytitan.com

For fans of: We Were Promised Jetpacks, Twin Atlantic

Frightened Rabbit’s latest re-lease, and their third album, is everything a junior album is ex-pected to be: a refreshing new take on a bands sound that pushes past what they have created in the past, while maintaining that sound that made them popular. The Winter of Mixed Drinks does that with arena-rock sounds, a cleaner, more solid production and a majestic feeling that maintains throughout the album.

However, what has been lost in this process of advancing musically is a sense of feeling and emotion.

The Midnight Organ Fight, the bands sophomore album, en-tranced listeners and critics with painful lyrics of heartbreak, self hate, stubborn relationships and how “it takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.” These impactful lyrics were only strengthened by lead singer and song writer, Scott Hutchinson.

However, with Mixed Drinks, Hutchinson seems to be... opti-mistic. Could it be because the breakup that brought about the songs in Organ Fight has long

since passed? Could it be because he feels he needs to? Or is he just sick of being sad? I believe the lat-ter, as the song “Not Miserable” will prove.

Every song on this album is has a force behind it that lays into the listener like a massive ship setting to sea for an epic adventure. This metaphor is appropriate, as almost every song seems to have a water theme to it.

The simple and catchy melo-dies that Frightened rabbit used to produce are now overwhelmed by waves of shoe gaze guitar sounds, reverb galore, immense orchestra-tions and odd audio samples. It can be said that they tried to hard to be grand, and could have tried hard to be honest with their own sound.

By no means should this album be discounted. It is still great, and will make for some great sound-track and driving music. However, what fans loved about Frightened Rabbit is evolving. Let’s just hope the band remembers what they used to be, and makes a seaworthy sound worth setting sail to.

Carolina Chocolate drops –Genuine negro JigBy kRiSten hulSey

Daily Titan Design EditorSoundoff@dailytitan.com

For fans of: The Avett Brothers, Gillian Welch, The Steeldrivers

Editors’ PlaylistSong you can’t help but

dance to Adrian Gaitan – Copy Editor“Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga

Danielle Flint – Copy Editor“Major Tom” – Peter Schilling

Donald C. Stefanovich – News EditorElevator music

Meghan Alfano – Sound-Off Editor“Air War” – Crystal Castles

Christa Connelly – Photo Editor“Move Your Feet” – Junior Senior

Nick Marley – Photo Editor“Shots” – LMFAO ft. Lil’ John

“Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians,” said Justin Robinson, Carolina Chocolate Drops band member.

This almost perfectly sums up the sound of the Drops.

For those who have never been ex-posed to folk or string music, which probably includes a good percentage of Southern Californians, an initial reaction to The Drops might be one of reluctance or unease. But, once given the chance, the Drops’ Genuine Negro Jig proves a foot-tapping, mod-ern twist to old-time string music that you’ll soon find yourself singing along to.

Although the album lacks original tracks (most of the songs are covers), the group still manages to put enough of a contemporary spin on its music so the sound is completely unique. “Hit

‘Em Up Style,” a Blu Cantrell cover, evolves the original song into a folk melody with beat boxing by Robinson in the background. Though Rhiannon Giddens’ vocals are a bit stretched at times, her bluesy voice complements the quirky violin and gives the R&B classic a more down-and-dirty vibe.

“Trampled Rose,” a Tom Waits cov-

Manchester Orchestra brings diverse set to troubadour

For fans of: Kevin Devine, Dear and the

Headlights, The Format

er, features Dom Flemons on vocals with an added four-string banjo. The vocals lack the signature growl that makes Waits’ version so appealing, but the added banjo turns the song into a Drops original that can’t be ignored.

Surprisingly, one of the best songs on the album is also one of the only original Drops songs. “Kissin’ and

Cussin’” was written by Robinson and inspired by bad relationships like Ike and Tina Turner. The bluesy sound mixed with a heavy bass drum is pas-sionate and emotional. The lyrics are strong and melancholy: “Now tell me, pretty baby, do you think you’re too sweet to die?”

Genuine Negro Jig features tighter banjo playing than previous Drops al-bums, with overpowering rhythm and jive that has been ignored until now. The Drops are somewhat reminiscent of wartime radio (think The Andrews Sisters with more folk).

Though the fiddle, harmonica, ka-zoo and banjo may initially throw you off a bit, it won’t take long before the catchy beats and playful vocals turn you into a believer too.

PhOtO COuRteSy OF nOnSuCh ReCORdSCarolina Chocolate Drops are (from left to right): Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson.

PhOtO COuRteSy OF BiG haSSleManchester Orchestra is: Andy Hull (vocals, guitar) , Jonathan Corley (bass), Jeremiah Edmonds (drums), Christopher Freeman (keyboard), Robert McDowell (guitar).

Crosswordbrought to you by mctcampus.com

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Sudoku brought to you by dailysudoku.com

Horoscopes

Sudoku

How To Play:Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9: and each set of boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

9March 18, 2010

Aries (March 21-April 19) Today’s challenge is to work with, not against, your partner. Yes, your ideas are bril-liant. But you need agreement to make them work.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) By taking several different approaches, you and your associate arrive at the same place at the same time. Ignore the man behind the green curtain.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Possibilities open up in the work environment. The challenge is to make hay while the sun shines, then play later.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) You have lots of ideas today. Your partner can make them become reality. Offer lav-ish praise when the job’s done.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Depend on your own insights now. If co-workers become inflexible, employ skillful leadership techniques to change their minds.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) If practice makes perfect, then you just hit the big time. The careful application of force prevents breakage.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Recognize diversity by using each person’s unique talents, even if they don’t seem to apply right now. You’ll use them later.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You feel transformation just around the corner. Are you ready? Check with the pow-ers that be. Then, let it run full steam ahead.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Each time you ask for creative input, you reframe your practical desires. Group logic provides greater opportunity to get your message out.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Spend most of your time listening today. You want to press your advantage, but you’ll get better results by hanging back. Be patient.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Everything rests on your own need to be creative. Make time every day to stick your fingers into the clay. Process is more important than product.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Spend time refining your communication skills. You could start a bold new proj-ect. Get your ideas down on paper.

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Daily Sudoku: Fri 12-Mar-2010

(c) D

aily

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3 8 1 67 58 1 4

9 7 8

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hardDaily Sudoku: Fri 12-Mar-2010

(c) D

aily

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2 8 9 4 3 6 1 7 57 5 4 2 1 8 6 3 96 3 1 5 7 9 4 8 28 9 6 7 4 2 5 1 34 1 2 3 6 5 8 9 75 7 3 9 8 1 2 6 43 6 7 8 2 4 9 5 19 2 8 1 5 3 7 4 61 4 5 6 9 7 3 2 8

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Quote of the Day:

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when you

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sleep.”

-Fran Lebowi

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1200

Campus Organizations

1600MiscellaneousWhiteRoseAnaheim.com Great research tool for stu-dents studying police miscon-duct and related legal issues. Follow active police brutality case in Anaheim. Web site includes city council video, public comments, actual police report and more!

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Daily Sudoku: Fri 12-Mar-2010

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2010. All rights reserved.

24358634974519

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978

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hard Daily Sudoku: Fri 12-Mar-2010

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289436175754218639631579482896742513412365897573981264367824951928153746145697328

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Dash Literary Journal and the

CSUF Creative Writing Club

Present: 5 Minutes in the

Spotlight. Open mic poetry

readings and live music at

McClain’s Coffeehouse Sat.,

March 20, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Questions? Contact:

DashLi te ra ryJourna l@

gmail.com

10 March 18, 2010

TiTan Trio: PiTCHErS PoiSED To DoMinaTE oPPonEnTS

A referee’s whistle starts the con-test, and in a blink of an eye, chaos erupts as both wrestlers become locked in a battle for domination.

This is wrestling, one of the tough-est sports in college athletics. Every college wrestler needs to step on the mat with the attitude of a Tasmanian devil, or suffer defeat.

Cal State Fullerton senior heavy-weight Kurt Klimek knows what it takes to be a winner.

Klimek, like all wrestlers, has tast-ed both success and frustration while at CSUF.

It is victory and accomplishment, however, that have been his most recent companions. His record this year, prior to the Pac-10 champion-ships, was 25 wins and nine losses with six pins and 10 bonus-point wins.

At the Pac-10 championships, held at UC Davis Feb. 27, he had a great showing.

Titan Wrestler prepped and ready for nCaa Championship runBy Mark PaynE

For the Daily Titan sports@dailytitan.com

He finished fourth and earned a trip to Omaha, Neb. for the NCAA Div. I championships March 18-20.

Teammate junior Adin Duenas, who won the Pac-10 tournament at 141 pounds, explained Klimek’s success.“He works hard, is always in good shape, and wrestles hard the whole match,” he said.

Klimek has steadily improved over the year. Several times he defeated opponents he had lost to earlier in the season.

“I even surprised myself this year,” he said.

Klimek was born in Carlsbad and loved growing up in Southern Cali-fornia.

He wanted to wrestle somewhere close to home.“It was a big reason I came to CSUF,” he said.

He redshirted at CSUF his first year to gain some strength and expe-rience. Coming out of Carlsbad High School, he was a stout 235 pounds, but needed to convert some of his body fat into muscle to increase his strength. He now stands a muscular 6’3” and weighs 285 pounds with

improved quickness. He has even earned a scholarship because of his improvment.

“When Kurt first showed up here he was a hard worker with good ba-sic wrestling skills, but he needed to develop muscle,” said Titan Wres-tling Head Coach Dan Hicks. “He’s improved a ton.”

Klimek made it to the NCAA tournament this year, and he reflect-ed on his accomplishments so far.

“I don’t think I would have got as far as I have anywhere else,” he said.

PHoTo CourTESy TiTan MEDia rElaTionS

Baseball drops two straight to the Sun DevilsBy niCHolaS ForTES

Daily Titan Staff Writersports@dailytitan.com

Combined, the three have earned Big West Pitcher of the Week five times since Renken’s first accolade in March of 2008, including Ramirez, who received the honor for the week of March 8, All-Big West First Team honors once and two Honorable Mention awards in 2009, Account-ing for 31 of the Titans 47 wins last season.

Despite the various accolades and the potential competition for best pitcher on staff, the players are con-tent with winning and refuse to let the pursuit of personal objectives distract them from their ultimate team goal.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about us. It’s about the team,” Ren-ken said.

Developing a team-oriented, win-ning attitude is a trademark of Titan baseball and none of them want to do anything to ruin the tradition.

From Page 1

Titan starting pitchers sophomore Noe Ramirez and junior Daniel Renken stand tall on the mound at Goodwin Field.PHoTo By niCk MarlEy/Daily Titan Photo Editor

The Titans fell short to ASU in a two-game series at Goodwin Field.PHoTo By SuE lagarDE/For the Daily Titan

Ramirez was born in East Los An-geles and was heavily recruited out of Alhambra High. Renken and Pill were both drafted by the Colorado Rockies after high school. Renken was drafted in the 35th round out of Orange Lutheran High in 2007. Pill, who attended Covina High, was drafted in the 38th round in 2008.

The appreciation for Titan base-ball developed into a desire to wear Titan blue and orange, and eventu-ally became a reality. Each player also credits close family ties to his deci-sion to put on the Titans uniform.

“At Fullerton, it’s our own style of baseball. No one else in the country has this style,” Ramirez said.

While the three share Southern California roots and similar success, each pitcher uses a unique style on the mound.

Pill is a prototype fastball-curve-ball pitcher, according to Renken. He has a “12-to-6” curveball that falls off the table and a fastball that can reach speeds over 90 mph. His

pitching style is similar to LA Dodg-ers All-Star Chad Billingsley, Ramir-ez said.

Ramirez has a deceiving arm and

can paint the corners of the plate with his fastball, Pill said.

“He’s so long and lean that a lot of his success comes from a whipping

action with his arm,” Renken said of Ramirez.

Renken has a “filthy” changeup and is not afraid to use it in any

count. His mechanics are awkward but his changeup is reminiscent of Milwaukee Brewers’ closer Trevor Hoffman, according to Pill. His slider has improved greatly over the offseason and he works in a fastball to sneak it by hitters.

The Titans have struggled early this season, posting a 7-9 record fol-lowing Wednesday’s loss to No. 1 Arizona State University.

Renken has yet to regain the form of his previous two seasons, even leaving a game during the first inning for the first time in his career due to back pain. However, the pitching staff remains optimistic about the remainder of the year.

“We started off slow but, if we put our minds to it, we’ll turn it around,” Pill said, adding that the team has the talent to get back to their win-ning ways. “There’s going to be a lot of hard work involved but I see us… coming together as a team and get-ting to Omaha. We just have to take it one game at a time.”

Cal State Fullerton Baseball lost their second consecutive game to the No. 1 Arizona State Sun Devils 8-6 in what started as a pitcher’s duel and ended in an offensive showdown, with ASU capturing their 17th vic-tory in a row to start the season.

Starting pitcher sophomore Ty-ler Pill pitched well enough for the win but gets a no decision, giving up one earned run, on seven hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

“I felt good. The first two innings I was a little tight, not nervous, but a little sore, then I started to loosen up and got a feel for things in the later innings,” Pill said.

“I never look to moral victories in defeat, but if we use this the right way, I really believe we got better these last two games,” Titan Head Coach Dave Serrano said.

The game was tied into the top of the seventh inning when the Sun Devils broke the score open when

sophomore catcher Austin Barnes reached on an error, and back-to-back singles brought Barnes home to give ASU the lead 2-1.

With runners on second and third Calhoun crushed a ball to cen-ter where junior center fielder Gary Brown made the play of the night in a sprint toward the wall to make an unbelievable catch and throwing the ball to junior shortstop Christian Colon who relayed the throw home

to throw out MacPhee who tried to score.

“The balls were really carrying to-night and they swung the bats really well and I knew he hit it hard, and I just turned and went and jumped and luckily I caught it,” Brown said.

The Titans will travel north to face the University of Washington for a three game weekend series this weekend and will return home March 26 against Hawaii at 7 p.m.